There’s something strangely cinematic about two NFL icons teeing off in Las Vegas—one chasing closure, the other searching for a reason to keep going. Back in February, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams met for a quiet round at Shadow Creek. No agents. No cameras. Just two longtime friends caught in the middle of football’s swirling chaos. Rodgers told Adams he was flying to New York the next day for a pivotal sit-down with the Jets. He’d be back by Friday, ready for another 18. That was the plan—until it all went sideways.

Rodgers never showed up. Not because he missed his flight, but because something in that New York meeting cracked him. He called Adams the next day, fuming, “‘I’m not coming back, bro.’ He’s like, ‘This was horrible; they just disrespected me completely.’” Adams didn’t believe it at first – he thought his guy was being a “little dramatic.” But when the details came out, the story checked out. The Jets let him fly across the country just to tell him, 20 seconds in, that they were done. “We’re gonna move in a different direction.” Cold. Clean. Final. And just like that, Adams knew their short-lived reunion wasn’t just over – it was permanently broken.

Now it’s late July, and Adams is stretching on Rams turf – but mentally, he’s still stuck somewhere between disbelief and déjà vu. Appearing on the Up & Adams Show, the veteran wideout didn’t even try to hide it. “We got to try it again together and gave that another shot,” he said about his 2024 reunion with Rodgers in New York. “That stone wasn’t left unturned. We did what we had to do. It just obviously didn’t work.” And that’s the part that stings.

Because this wasn’t just a stat-padding reunion, this was Rodgers-to-Adams – 669 catches, 8,121 yards, 73 touchdowns – back together again. A duo that once haunted secondaries is now reduced to 3 wins in 11 games. Sure, Adams still put up 854 yards and 7 touchdowns, but it didn’t matter. The Jets couldn’t win, Aaron Rodgers couldn’t stay healthy, and the dream ended before it ever really took off. And now, the finality hits even harder. 

Just last month, A-Rod told The Pat McAfee Show that he’s “pretty sure” 2025 will be his last NFL season. Just one year in Pittsburgh to tie the bow on a two-decade career. “I played 20 fricking years,” he said. “This was really about finishing with a lot of love and fun and peace for the career that I’ve had.” For Adams, that means the door is shut – for real this time. Whatever little flicker of hope he had about one more reunion just got extinguished by Aaron Rodgers himself. The same quarterback he built a Hall of Fame resume with had just fizzled out on the East Coast. And yet… the closure still hasn’t kicked in.

Because deep down, Adams believed the fairytale had one more page left. And more importantly, he believed Rodgers did too. In a separate conversation with Mike Silver, Adams explained that Rodgers wasn’t just looking for another team – he was waiting to be wooed. Red carpet. Spotlight. That kind of thing. “I think Aaron wants someone to roll out the red carpet for him,” Adams told Silver. The irony? He finally got it – from Mike Tomlin. And now he’s trying to live up to his expectations.

Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers tries to make Pittsburgh his new home

In a very Rodgers-esque fashion, the four-time MVP opened his Steelers training camp with a pick on his very first throw – straight to linebacker Patrick Queen. The crowd loved it. Rodgers didn’t care. “It’s good to get that out the way,” he said. “It’s going to be a good challenge for me throwing in this heat every single day. I look forward to it, but I’m going to throw some picks, but I’m going to throw some touchdowns, too.”

He didn’t throw any touchdowns that day. But he did connect with Scotty Miller, Darnell Washington, and DK Metcalf – his new suitemate at St. Vincent College. Yeah, Rodgers and DK are literally roommates. DK thought someone was knocking on his front door. Turns out, Aaron Rodgers knocked on the bathroom door. “He was like, ‘Oh man, I was hoping it was you.’ I was like, ‘I did not think I was going to have a roommate, but glad to see you, too,’” Metcalf said. Classic dorm story. Very un-Aaron.

The vibes are light now, but the stakes are not. Omar Khan built this team to chase a Super Bowl. Rodgers knows it. “On paper, we’re probably one of those 10 to 12,” he said. For Rodgers, this isn’t just about throwing pretty spirals. It’s about finding chemistry, sweating through the heat, and proving – maybe for the last time – that he’s still got one more run left in him.